1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a simulator for front-loaded barrel weapons and suitable ammunition therefor.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Simulation systems for the training of the operation of military weapons systems offer different advantages and are of increasing interest. Among other things, fewer security precautions or none at all are required while training for real large-range weapons systems, in addition to the severe security precautions for the trainees, large areas, which in some cases can be difficult to find, have to be closed in order to avoid personal and material damages. Ultimately, training on simulators generally involves lower costs and may therefore be performed more intensely. Also, simulators permit training with respect to situations which can only be created in reality with great complications, if at all, such as the influence of the weather, or shooting in developed areas. In the case of weapons systems requiring relatively expensive ammunition, e.g. front-loaded barrel weapons such as mine throwers, shell throwers, and rocket launchers, reusable ammunition is particularly advantageous.
Inter alia, known mine thrower simulator projects suffer from the fact that decisive aspects of the simulation do not correspond to reality, thereby inducing dangerous errors in the operation of real systems. In known constructions, after firing, the shot, i.e. the mine, grenade, illuminating grenade etc. remains in the barrel, from where it must be removed. To this end, it is suggested to pull out the shot from the barrel by means of a suitable tool. On one hand, in reality, this manipulation is extremely dangerous on the other hand, a mine thrower simulator does not allow for practicing serial firing of shots in the fastest possible succession.
An alternative to pulling out the shot consists in the automatic ejection of the grenades. One possibility is to use a very weak propelling charge, while another possibility is to provide a spring or pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders or the like. The first possibility is noisy and involves the consumption of propelling charges, and the latter one requires the manual or motorized bending of the spring or the generation of the pneumatic or hydraulic pressure, respectively. However, a power driven bending resp. generation of the pressure in turn requires a relatively strong energy source, which is generally not available in a realistic situation. In any case, all these ejection techniques again require security precautions as the grenades are ejected to a distance of some meters. Also, in the case of a bad landing e.g. on the tail fin, the expensive simulation grenade may be damaged or destroyed, and the fuse in the point may be damaged even in a regular landing. Ultimately, practice mines or grenades must be laboriously located and collected after the training.